Letting Go
by skiddadle520
Summary: It doesn't take long for Rose Weasley to be completely smitten with her new neighbor, Patrick Davis. Four years later she finally realizes that she has to fight for the man she loves, and what else can she do except to pretend to date Scorpius Malfoy?
1. Chapter 1

Letting Go – Chapter 1

* * *

A new wizarding family moved into the house next door the summer before my third year.

My mother had come back from inviting them to dinner when she announced that Holly Davis – the recently retired Chaser of the Chudley Cannons – was living next door. And being that Hugo and I were raised by Ronald Weasley, we began jumping up and down – ecstatic.

But when they came over later that day, it wasn't Holly Davis that took my breath away and got my heart pounding, but her son – Patrick Davis.

Being thirteen at the time, I didn't know much about love, but I was sure what I felt was it or at least something closely resembling it.

Time had slowed down and he seemed to glow about him. By the time dinner was served, I was smitten.

Over the years, we talked somewhat frequently – polite hellos and the occasional conversation, but we never became close until the summer before my sixth year.

xxxxxx

Patrick Davis was the ideal man.

When I told Scorpius this he scoffed. "I doubt that."

"He is!" I said.

He shook his head, "No."

"Yes!"

"No, Rose, he isn't."

"Yes, Scorpius, he is!"

He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. "How is he the ideal man?"

"First," I said, counting off on my fingers, "he's smart. Second, he's good-looking. Third, he plays Quidditch _and _ he's amazing at it. Fourth, he's funny. Fifth, he's charming. Sixth, he's filthy rich. Seventh, his mother is a legend – Chaser of the Cannons."

"His mother is not a legend," Scorpius cut in, "The Chudley Cannons are not that great – at all."

I glared, "You dare to interrupt me and to insult my Quidditch team?"

"The Cannons are not your Quidditch team. You have to like Quidditch in order to have a Quidditch team," he said, "and you don't like Quidditch."

I crossed my arms. "That's not relevant," I said.

"Fine," he said. "Continue with your list."

"Eighth, he's extremely tall."

"Which is good since you're such a giant," Scorpius said.

I chucked the quill I was holding at him.

"No need for violence," he smirked, leaning easily to the left to avoid contact.

I glared. "Ninth, he's polite. Tenth, he's nice. Lastly and most importantly, he likes me."

"And you know that how?"

"I just do," I said, "…girls have an intuition for these kinds of things."

"But you, Rose, cannot really be considered a girl," he said, "You know, with all your Doc Martens and strange distaste for anything girly at all."

I leaned over the table and smacked him – hard – on the arm.

"Again with the violence," he said, rubbing his arm. "You really do need to control your urges to hit and throw things at people."

I would have smacked him again, but I then remembered why I was telling him about Patrick Davis and why he was the ideal man.

"No smack?" He asked, surprised. "I'm impressed."

"Shut up."

He smirked, and then asked, "So, Rose Weasley, what do you want?"

"What makes you think I want something?"

"I know you well enough, Rose, to know that you didn't make a list of why Patrick Davis is the ideal man then recite the list to me for no reason."

"Fine," I said. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Shoot," he said, "I'm all ears."

xxxxxx

Scorpius and I became friends after my break up with my first boyfriend – James Danielson.

Sarah Landon, my best friend, started suspecting something was up two weeks before he broke up with me. So, when he had pulled me aside after Transfiguration and said that 'we needed to talk', I knew it was over. He had said that he wasn't ready for a serious commitment yet and that we should break up.

He was one year older than me, a sixth year at the time, and I thought that he was wonderful, new, exciting, so when he broke up with me I was crushed.

The following day, at lunch, he had a new girlfriend – a girl who clung to his arm and twirled her too-long, too-manicured fingers into his perfect hair. He didn't even do so as to glance at me.

"He's an arse," Sarah had said. "Don't pay any attention to him."

Albus had glared. "Definitely an arse."

James had sympathetically patted my hand. "I'm glad he's gone, now there's only one James again and that's me," he smiled lightly, "the way it should be."

James's jokes didn't help as much they usually did, so I had skipped following class, Herbology (I could apologize to Uncle Neville later) and ran to the library instead. Once inside my own, personal sanctuary, I had sunk to the ground, leaning against the door, full out bawling.

Only a few moments had passed before the doors were opened again, resulting in me falling backwards.

A very surprised Scorpius stood there, holding a stack of books and a handful of new quills.

I quickly stood up.

"Sorry," he had quietly mumbled.

And I wasn't sure why, but the entire situation fell to my shoulders again with that simple 'sorry' and I started bawling again.

Alarmed and still shocked, Scorpius had stood there, completely dumbfounded and frozen. After a minute, he regained movement and moved to open the library doors open again, dropping his books to the ground, before helping me back inside.

Once inside, I again sank to the floor. After I had finished crying, I looked back up. Scorpius was sitting on the ground across from me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I had nodded. "Sorry for crying."

"You don't have to apologize," he replied. He reached into his robes, pulling a handkerchief and handing it to me.

"You carry a handkerchief?" I asked, taking it.

A light pink tinge appeared on his cheeks as he nodded. "Don't judge."

"I won't," I smiled, blowing my nose into it. It was edged with green and had an embroidered serpent in the corner. I never really understood the pride that Slytherins seemed to have toward their House.

"Good," he replied.

And for a while, you could hear nothing but my sniffling and hiccups. Finally, my sniffling had stopped and my hiccupping had seized.

"Here," I stuck the handkerchief out for him to take back. We both looked at it, the handkerchief that I had spent the last ten minutes or so crying and sneezing into and we both started to laugh, and suddenly I felt relief, not burdened by a boy and the end of my first relationship, and it was wonderful. "I'll keep it," I said, once our laughing had stopped (or rather, my laughs and his mild chuckles).

He nodded, also smiling, "Yeah, that's a good idea." He stood up, sticking his hand out to help me up. I took it and he pulled me up.

"Thank you," I said.

He waved his hand in a 'no problem' motion and said, "Contrary to what some people believe, I am a decent guy," he paused for a moment before adding, "occasionally."

I smiled. "Well, again, thank you."

He nodded. "You're welcome."

I walked out of the library, turning back to wave. He gave a small, half-smile and nod in response and we both turned and went our separate ways.

I was sure that things after that were going to go back to normal – he would continue hanging out with his Slytherin friends and I with my Gryffindor ones, and we would probably never talk ever again. At least, that was what I thought until the next day.

I had been studying in the library when he appeared again. He gestured toward the empty seat across from me. "Mind if I sit?"

"Go ahead," I had replied.

"Thanks," He sat down.

"Are we friends now?" I asked, after a moment, looking up at him.

He smiled. "Sure we are," he said, then paused before adding, "but if my father, like, goes after you or something you were warned."

I laughed. "Same goes with my father."

He chuckled. "Okay, then it's settled. We're friends."

I nodded. "Friends."

And the hatred my parents (or more specifically, my father) had towards his father, didn't seem to matter so much anymore, and the small piece of resentment my father had taught me toward the Malfoy family was gone and replaced with gratitude for what he had done for me the previous day.

And that's how Scorpius Malfoy and I became friends.

xxxxxx

"You asked him?" Sarah asked, surprised. "I mean, you actually asked him."

"You told me to!" I said. "And I'm also going to take this time to point out that this was your plan to begin with."

"Don't blame me for this," she said, "and I didn't actually think you would go through with it!" She paused, "What did he say?"

"He looked at me like I was crazy and then after about a minute of silence, he left."

"He left?"

"He left."

"What do you think that meant?"

"What do you think what meant?" James asked, as he and Albus sat down.

"Rose asked Scorpius Malfoy to be her boyfriend today," Sarah replied.

Traitor.

Albus and James stared at me in complete shock. "What?!"

xxxxxx

"You have gone barmy," Scorpius said later that day. As usual, we were in the library. I had been studying for my Potions exam later that week when he interrupted me. "Really, Rose, you should get it checked out."

"I have not gone barmy," I said, closing my Potions book, folding down the corner of the page to mark my spot.

"You have," he said.

"I have not."

"You have."

"Have not!"

Sometimes, we went on for hours, but in this case Scorpius just wanted to get straight to the point. "Asking me to be your … boyfriend," He said, "is just not normal."

"You didn't even give me a chance to explain myself," I said. "I don't want you to actually be my boyfriend."

"Really?" He smiled, looking mildly pleased.

"I want you to _pretend_ that you're my boyfriend."

His face dropped. "What?"

"You know how much I like Patrick Davis, right?" I asked.

"Very, very, very, very much?" He guessed.

I nodded, "Exactly. So I like him, and I know that he likes me, and frankly, if we're not together by the end of the year, I'll be depressed."

"I'm not sure if I like the girly side of Rose that I've been seeing so much of lately," he said.

I ignored him. "Well, two days ago he started dating that Hufflepuff – Theresa something-or-another."

"So you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend to make him jealous?"

"Yes," I nodded. "I'm Rose Weasley, Scorpius. I fight for my man."

"Your man?" He asked. "So you are fighting for _your man_ by trying to make him jealous by pretending to date me."

I nodded. "Yes."

He stared at me.

I stared back. "Will you do it?"

Finally, he said. "How do you know he'll get jealous?"

"Oh," I said. "Believe me, he'll get jealous."

"Rose, I don't know if he even likes you," he said truthfully.

"Scorpius, believe me, he does."

"I've never seen him talk to you, though," he said.

"Scorpius," I said. "He likes me."

He adjusted in his seat and stared at me again, crossing his arms. "Why do you want him so badly?"

The real reason was too hard to explain, so I simply said, "It's complicated."

"So you're not going to tell me?"

"I'm not not going to tell you," I said. "I'm just not going to tell you right now."

He didn't pry, just shifted in his seat again and asked, "Why me?"

"Because the only males I hang out with on a regular basis are you, Albus and James, and well, I don't really want to pretend to date my cousins."

He paused again. "What's in it for me?"

"Um," I said, thinking, "… shiny money?" I flashed him a smile.

"I have plenty of shiny money," he replied, lightheartedly. "I'm a Malfoy."

"Fine," I said. "What about just the comfort and happiness of helping a friend?"

"That's not good enough," he said. "You're going to have to give me something wonderful, because if I do this, I'll be taking this," he gestured toward his body, "off the market."

I smacked him, "Stop being conceited."

He smiled.

"What about," I started slowly, "What about that thing you've been after for a long time now – ever since you found out about it."

"What?"

"That thing."

His eyes brightened as he got it. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Your Chocolate Frog cards?"

"Yes."

He grinned widely. "You're going to give your extremely rare, wonderful collection of Chocolate Frog cards?"

I never really understood his love toward my collection. "Yes."

"Then I'm in," he said. "Rose Weasley, I will pretend to be your boyfriend to make what's-his-face jealous in exchange for your wonderfully rare collection of your Chocolate Frog cards and also, you'll also be pretty much in debt to me for the rest of your life."

"Deal," I said, sticking my hand out for him to shake.

He shook it. "Deal."

* * *

**Author's Note: I know that this is an extremely overused clichéd plot, but I simply couldn't resist! Though the idea of the plot is definitely less than original, I am definitely hoping to take my own turn and spin on things. Hopefully you enjoyed, and don't forget to leave a review! Thanks! :)**

**Also, this is around mid-November 2022, Rose's 6th year. :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything in/relating to the Harry Potter Universe (sadly)**


	2. Chapter 2

Letting Go – Chapter 2

* * *

"You guys are so cute together," Sarah gushed.

I almost threw my fork at her.

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably in his seat and let out a nervous chuckle before turning to glare at me.

"Don't say things like that," said Albus. "They'll think we're okay with them dating."

James let out a sarcastic 'hmph' in agreement.

"Stop being stupid," she replied, rolling her eyes. "We are okay with this."

"Let's get some things straight," Albus said, placing his hands palm-down on the table and sitting straight up. He was going to make a great dad someday. "First, you are _not _to snog in front of us."

"Not a problem," I said as Scorpius made a face and said, "Definitely not a problem." (I resisted the urge to elbow him in the ribs.)

"Second, you are not to act all couple-y when I'm around."

I nodded, "Sure."

"And lastly," he said, pointing his finger at us, "no sex."

"Al!" I said.

"I don't want any images in my mind that don't need to be there, and if I find out that you two did it, then there's going to be nothing but unnecessary images there."

"So," Scorpius mused, "so we can do it as long as you don't find out." He smirked and glanced over at me.

I would have hit him if Albus hadn't abruptly stood up and said, very loudly, "I don't approve of this!" and stormed out of the Great Hall.

James looked amused. "That was fun."

"So you're okay with this?" I asked.

"Hey, as long as you two don't, you know, do it in front of me, I'm fine with it." He shrugged. "And besides, we already beat Slytherin in Quidditch so there's really no reason for me to not like you, and any guy who can make Albus storm off like that is good on my page."

Scorpius smiled at that, and we all continued to eat.

"Anyways," he said. "I knew you two would happen sooner or later."

Scorpius and I stopped mid-bite. "What?" I asked.

"What?" James asked, looking back up.

"You just said that you knew that it would happen sooner or later," I said.

"Right," he nodded. "You two, like this girl here said," he looked at Sarah, "are a really cute couple. And I don't say 'cute' often, so you know that I mean it."

I set my fork down. "What?"

"When you first started hanging out with each other a year ago that this would happen, you two are great together," he said.

"What?"

"How are you not understanding this?" he asked, getting frustrated.

"I should go," Scorpius said, quickly standing up.

"Me too," I said, also standing up.

"I'm going that way," Scorpius pointed.

"So I'll be going that way," I said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Right," he said.

I nodded, "Right."

And we quickly walked in opposite directions.

xxxxxx

James, Sarah, Albus and I were all sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room before we had to go to our next class. The three of them had gotten into a pretty intense conversation about Quidditch when I had interrupted.

"I just really understand the point of sport."

Sarah stopped mid-sentence and the three of them turned to stare at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't understand the point of sport?" James asked.

"Why not?" Albus looked thoroughly confused.

"It's the competition!" Sarah said.

James nodded, "The rush of scoring a point."

"The pride in winning!" Albus said.

"So basically," I said, "It's a self-esteem thing. You need something to be good in, so why not toss a ball around."

"No," Sarah shook her head. "You cannot judge Quidditch until you've played."

"Until you have the rush of being that high in the air," James said.

"Or, until you feel the pride in winning!" Albus put in.

I stared at them. "I don't buy it. I think sport shows what kind of humans us wizards and witches are – greedy, prideful, constantly needing to be praised."

They all glared at me.

"I don't think we can talk to you anymore," James said, turning back to Sarah and Albus.

Sarah and Albus nodded in agreement and they both turned away from me.

"So you're not going to talk to me?"

They ignored me and continued their previous argument.

xxxxxx

"I swear," I said to Scorpius. "If another girl comes up to me and either glares at me or tells me how lucky I am I'm going to punch her."

"I told you," he said. "I'm a very wanted man."

"You've never even had a girlfriend," I said as I steered Scorpius around the corner to avoid a very potentially dangerous girl who had been glaring at me all day.

"None were right for me," he said. "You know me; I'm all about the romance."

Even though it sounded ridiculous it was true. Scorpius was all about the romance. He watched Muggle movies like Titanic, Casablanca, Say Anything and he's read Gone with the Wind at least ten times. I hadn't even known that Muggles were such romantic saps until Scorpius had shoved about 10 discs into my hand, popped them one-by-one into the machine under the television in the Muggle Studies classroom and had made me watch every single one of them when he and I stayed for Christmas break the previous year.

"And you don't have a Patrick Davis?" I asked. "A girl you've been pining for?"

"I don't pine," he informed me. "I take action when I like a girl."

"So you've never liked a girl?" I asked.

"Nope."

"What about a boy?" I joked.

"None of those either," he grinned.

"So you've never liked anyone."

"Well," he said, "unless you count Sally Stevens."

"Sally Stevens?" I asked.

"We were both seven and we went to Wizarding Day Care together."

"You've never told me about Sally Stevens before!" I said.

"That's because she tore out my heart and stomped on it," he said. "I've tried forgetting it."

"I'm sorry," I mock-pouted.

"It's okay," he smiled. "I'm attractive now so joke's on her!"

I smiled. "I wish I had your attitude."

"You wouldn't be able to handle it," he smiled.

"You know," I said, turning to look at him. "You're a really good guy, Scorpius."

He looked at me strangely. "Thanks."

"I mean, really," I said. "I can't believe you actually agreed to be my boyfriend!" I smiled.

"I can't either," he said, "it's for a good cause though, right?"

"A great cause."

"And when you get married to what's-his-face I'll be in the wedding party?"

"The Maid of Honor!" I grinned. "You'll even get to wear a dress and everything."

"Goody," he smirked.

"But really, Scorpius," I said. "I'm really grateful."

"I know," he said, his smirk turning into a genuine smile. "I'm glad I could help."

xxxxxx

It was 7 o'clock and I was sitting on the Quidditch Pitch watching Sarah, James, Albus and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team practice. I had no idea how I got into this position – watching a sport that I didn't really like for an hour and a half and counting – but I was and I had to figure out a way to get out of it.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" I had heard Scorpius's voice come from behind me. "Rose Weasley watching Quidditch?"

I turned around and smiled, relieved to see a friendly face. "Hey!"

"Thought you might be lonely," he sat down beside me.

"I was, but you didn't need to come."

He shrugged. "All my friends are 'boycotting' me for dating you," he put air quotes around 'boycotting'.

I frowned, guilty. "Really?"

"You don't have to feel guilty," he said. "It was my choice too, right? And you have to say yes, because then people will think I have no power over a woman who won't say no."

"Well thank you for coming," I said.

"No problem," he said, "and guess what else?"

"What?"

"I can now conjure, fairly small and fairly simple, objects wordlessly."

"You can?" I asked, excited – he had been working on this for at least 6 months now.

"Check it out," he said, reaching into his robes and taking his wand out. His smile disappeared as he focused on the charm. Suddenly, after 30 seconds or so, a rose appeared.

I smiled. "Yay!"

"For you," he handed it to me. "A rose for Rose."

"Thanks," I laughed, taking it. I turned to him, "You're very sweet, Scorpius."

"Thank you," he smiled. "You do realize, though, just how lame and corny that was."

"How could I not have noticed?" I asked. "But sometimes, depending on my mood, I don't mind lame or corny."

"I'll remember that," he said. "I actually have to go," he looked apologetic, "but, I'm not only lame and corny, I'm also useful." He took out his wand again and conjured a book and handed it to me. "So you won't be bored."

"Thank you!" I said, thankful for something to do.

"Also," he said, leaning over. "What's-his-face is watching." He glanced at the far side of the field where, sure enough, Richard Davis stood, holding a broomstick.

"What's he doing?"

"I have no idea," Scorpius shrugged. "Trying to get some practice in?" he guessed, "The Hufflepuff v. Ravenclaw match is next Saturday."

I nodded, "Oh."

"Well I'm going to go," he patted my shoulder.

"Okay," I turned back to him. "Thanks for the book."

He smiled before leaving the Pitch.

xxxxxx

"Do you have to work us so hard?" Sarah asked as she stumbled out of the locker rooms.

"That was barely working hard," James said.

"James," I said, "It was pretty hard. I mean, I even got sweaty just watching you guys practice."

"And," Sarah added, "My big toe has no nail anymore!"

James flinched – he hated any kind of flesh wound. "That's disgusting."

"So stop working us so hard!" Sarah said.

"There's a reason why we won the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game," he replied. "We're a great team this year and we continue working this hard we'll win the Cup for sure!"

"We'll win the Cup working hard or not," she said. "We're naturally talented."

"There's no such thing."

"Of course there's such a thing! It's called natural talent," she said.

"You have to work to have talent, you can't just depend on it to never fail you," he said.

Sarah looked at him for a moment before saying, "Did your mother tell you that?"

"So what if she did?"

"It's just," she paused, "you quote your mother so much! It really makes me wonder."

"I love my mother and I respect what she says," he said. "I have no shame."

"No shame at all?" She asked.

He repeated, "No shame!"

"Well," I cut in. "Sorry to cut into this conversation about how much James loves Aunt Ginny, but I should go to something productive. I just wasted 2 hours watching a meaningless sport being practiced, so instead of wasting more of my time, I'm going to go."

I was on my way to the Gryffindor Common Room when I ran into Patrick.

"Hey," he said. He had been leaning against the wall next to the portrait guarding the Gryffindor Tower and when he saw me he quickly stood up straight.

"Were you waiting for me?" I asked as I approached him.

"Kind of," he said.

Then, silence settled over us. "Awkward," I said, smiling wide, remembering the time we agreed that when an awkward silence rolled around, one of us would point it out and the other would agree or disagree.

He smiled in return. "Awkward," he confirmed.

Another silence.

"I hear you're dating Scorpius Malfoy."

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Um," he rubbed his hands together. "Do you like him?"

"I do," I said.

He nodded slowly. "If you like him, I'm happy for you."

He seemed genuine. "Thank you," I said, searching for a sign – any sign at all – of the old Patrick. The Patrick I got to know 5 months ago; the Patrick that seemed to disappear after what had happened; the Patrick that didn't ignore me when we saw each other; but I instead I just saw the new Patrick – eyes glazed over, expressionless, his lips in a thin line.

He nodded and turned to leave. Just as he was about to turn the corner, he turned back around and stared at me. "Be happy, Rose," he said, "Okay?"

I nodded once. "Okay."

"Good," he said, and with one more lingering glance, he turned around the corner and disappeared.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, Chapter 2! I kind of wish there was more to this chapter, but I want to pace it well, so another short chapter. Thanks for the lovely reviews! I just wanted to say that though the idea of the plot is definitely less than original, I am definitely hoping to take my own turn and spin on things.**

**Also, it was pointed out to me that Rose's 6th year is 2022, not 2021. Thanks 'plum says so'!**

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Letting Go – Chapter 3

* * *

The walk to the Quidditch Pitch for the Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff match seemed about ten times longer than usual, probably due to the fact that the previous evening I had attempted something every teenage witch attempts at some time during her life – trimming her own bangs.

I had found a great Charm in one of Sarah's beauty spells books and my bangs were always in my face and I was spending about 40% of my time brushing hair out of my face, so I attempted it. Not only was it _incredibly _uneven and just plain odd-looking, but also there was only about a few centimeters of it left. So now, here I was, walking with Scorpius and Sarah to the pitch, with everyone still staring at me and Scorpius (gossip had been slow, so the smallest story stuck for a while) and me, with my tufts of hair hanging down my forehead, and it was damn embarrassing.

"Nice bangs," Scorpius had smirked when he saw them. "Very embarrassing."

"It's going to be embarrassing for you also," I had told him, sticking my chin up defensively.

He had rolled his eyes and continued to eat; now, though, I bet he's suffering. Ha! I laugh silently at myself as Scorpius, beside me, scowls. "I can't believe everyone thinks I'm dating a girl who has hair like that. This has to damage my reputation somehow."

"Hey!" Sarah quickly came to my aid. "Be nice to Rose! She's having going through a difficult time."

Both Scorpius and Sarah look at me and I feel my hand cover what's left of my bangs. "Stop looking at me."

"Can't we … undo it?" Scorpius asked. "There has to be some way."

"No!" I exclaim, shaking my head. "There is no way anyone is going near this hair unless they are a professional."

"Come on," Scorpius urges. "I reckon there's something out there that will make it grow," he pauses, "or at least something that will make it more even."

We make it to the pitch and head up to the stands where James and Albus are already sitting, popcorn and Ravenclaw paraphernalia in hand.

"Look what mum sent us!" James grinned, holding up the giant tubs of popcorn. "Muggle food!"

"We're rooting for Ravelclaw?" I ask, looking at the blue and bronze flags that they're waving around.

"Yep," Albus nodded. "We each got 10 galleons on Ravenclaw."

He glances at Scorpius who was sitting next to me, and it was either the excitement of watching Quidditch or the fact that he was getting used to Scorpius being around, but instead of sneering at him like he usually did, he just remained silent. Good for him!

James then shook the tub of popcorn, making the popcorn rattle around, "It should be an exciting game!" He said, eyes bright.

xxxxxxx

James was right (for once). The game was actually exciting, and even after 40 minutes I didn't feel a need to pull out a book or go study. Ravenclaw was leading by only 20 with Hufflepuff in possession.

"KNOCK THE BLOODY BALL OF HIS BLOODY HANDS!" James screamed at the top of his lungs, leaning over the rail. "YOU WANKERS! GET THE BALL!"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Is he always like this?"

"Only when he has money on the game," I respond, remembering the time he had 50 galleonson the Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff game in favor of Hufflepuff – Slytherin had been leading for pretty much the entire game, but at the end, Hufflepuff had got the Snitch and won the game. It took a week and a half for the full volume of James's voice to come back.

"GET IT!" He screamed again. "GET IT!"

Both Albus and Sarah, who was sitting on both side of James, had their fingers in their ears but they were both shaking with laughter, because, well Angry James is pretty funny.

"I'm half expecting him to jump over the side and get the ball himself," Scorpius grinned.

I laughed. "He definitely might just do that."

Scorpius was silent for a minutes and all you could hear was James's screams. He then turned to look at me and asked, "You okay?"

I looked over at him. "Why?"

"It's just," he gestured toward the field. "You've been looking at Patrick for almost an hour now."

"I haven't been looking at Patrick," I lie. "I've been looking at the team as a whole."

"But being that he's part of that whole, for the past hour, you've been looking at him for a good while now."

"Not really," I say.

A skeptical look crossed his face. "Right," he said. "If you haven't been looking at him, then you wouldn't know the exact location he is now, which you probably do."

Hovering on the left side of the field, looking for the Snitch. "I don't know," I lie again. "I don't know his exact location."

"And your nose," he said, poking my nose, "just grew a little."

I looked at him. What?

"Pinocchio," he explained, then after looking at my still-confused face, he asked, "You've never watched Pinocchio?"

"Is this a Muggle thing we're talking about?"

"I watched it in Day Care!" he said, "You have to have seen it.

I shook my head.

"The puppet's nose grows every time he lies," he said.

"Oh." I paused. "I'm not lying."

"Nose just grew again," he said.

I frowned. "No it didn't."

"Again," he said, "with the nose growing."

I resisted the urge to smack him around with the Ravenclaw flag that Albus kept waving around in my face. "It's not growing!" I screamed, almost as loud as James. And everyone in a 3 foot radius of me stops cheering at looks at me.

"Her metaphorical Pinocchio nose," Scorpius turns around and explained to everyone, and they all look at us rather oddly for a minute before turning their attention back to the game.

I'm about to retort back when there's a roar in the crowd and James lets out this one, low bellow and pumps his fist in the air. "RAVENCLAW WON! RAVECLAW WON!"

I turn back to the field, and sure enough, Patrick was circling the pitch, his hand high in the air with the Snitch grasped tightly in it.

Madame Tully blew her whistle, ending the game, and the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams descended on their brooms – the Hufflepuff captain looking extremely angry and the rest of the team hanging their heads in defeat. As Patrick got off the broom, we all saw her – Theresa wearing her black robes and a blue and bronze scarf wrapped around her neck running at a breakneck speed toward Patrick.

"That's kind of funny," James said, his voice hoarse, "being that she's in Hufflepuff and all."

But his voice was distant as I watched her jump up into Patrick's arms and give him a big victory kiss, right in front of the whole school. And suddenly, a wave of nausea hits me.

I feel Sarah push Albus out of the way and she rests her hand on my arm. "You okay?" She asks, looking concerned.

"I have to go," I tell her, standing up. I then push through the throng of people to get back into the castle. I just need to get back to the castle.

xxxxxx

"Hey!" Scorpius called, running to catch up with me.

I don't stop. There are now hot tears streaming from my eyes and down my face – and Scorpius _cannot_ see that, but I stupidly forget that when one person is walking and then one person behind them is running, that person who is running will eventually catch up with the person who is walking.

"Talk to me," he said, after he reached me.

"I don't want to talk," I said, but in all honesty, I think I do.

He then grabbed my arm and dragged me away to an empty classroom. He then closed the door and sat down on cold ground, patting the ground beside him. "Comfy," he says with a small smile.

I sit down beside him and he puts his arm around my shoulders. After a minute of silence he says quietly, "You have to talk to me, Rose. What happened between you and Patrick?"

I don't respond.

"Come on," he gives my shoulder a slight squeeze. "Tell me."

I then reach up to brush some tears away and I lean against his shoulder, which is surprisingly comfortable, being that all Scorpius is only made of skin, muscle and bone, and I proceed to tell him the story of what happened between me and Patrick.

xxxxxx

The summer before my sixth year was the most memorable yet - partly because it was the hottest summer in a long time and partly because of Patrick.

His parents had gone away for their anniversary at the beginning of July, leaving him to take care of his 5-year old twin sisters. My mom had sent me to their house to help him out. And after spending the next two days with mostly just Patrick and his sisters, my feelings for him, if possible, had grown even more. Then, the next day when his parents came home, he came over to my house to ask me out.

On our first date he took me on his Muggle bike to a field – he rode it as I sat on the handlebars – about two miles away from our houses, and we had a picnic. We ate egg sandwiches on a checkered blanket and drank pumpkin juice as we swatted ants away – it was abnormally perfect. Then, on our way back, when we were about half a mile away he stopped, and I turned around to see what was wrong.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked.

"Yeah," I whispered, my throat feeling suddenly dry. He then leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. After a minute, I started to really, really melt into it and I was so lightheaded I fell right off the handlebars. He laughed, then held out his hand to me to take, and he pulled me up.

Two weeks later, we were in Diagon Alley when we ran into his aunt, who looked exactly like his father, but with slightly longer hair. When she saw him she stopped in her tracks, shrieked, "Patrick!" and started to run towards us.

"Brace yourself," he said as she came nearer.

"My dear!" She exclaimed, stopping in front of us. "How _are _you?"

Patrick smiled, "Just peachy."

"That's wonderful!" She said, clapping her hands together. She then turned to me, surprise etched across her face. "And who is this? A Weasley?"

"Yes, she's a Weasley," he said. "This is Rose… my girlfriend." He looked down at me quizzically to make sure it was okay that he called me his girlfriend – it was.

After that, we were pretty inseparable. He was sweet and kind and everything I dreamed him to be. He liked to call me things like 'my love' or 'my sweet', which, at first, I thought was odd, but after a few weeks his pet names definitely grew on me.

Then, two nights before we left to go to Hogwarts he came over like usually did, but this time, instead of smiling and flopping down on my bed like usual, he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me deeply. And since he was aware that my parents had gone to take Hugo to Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry for a visit, I knew that he wasn't planning on an innocent night of talking.

So we did it – we made love, had sex, consummated our relationship, pronounced our love in a very different way… whatever you want to call it.

At the time, it was the most special it could have been, but the next morning I woke up and he was gone.

I went downstairs, unsure of what I thought and expecting the worst (I was absolutely horrendous in bed and he had run off), and found my parents waiting for me at the kitchen table.

"Patrick's father had a heart attack last night," my mother said. "He passed."

I immediately went over to Patrick's and knocked on the door. After waiting for 15 minutes at the door with no answer, I went back home, utterly defeated.

The next day, I saw him on the platform, but he was a different person. There was no hop in his step and no smile in his eyes, there was just a body with emptiness inside. I had walked up to him and his family.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I said, my eyebrow furrowed.

His mother smiled gratefully at me. "Thank you."

But Patrick remained silent. I followed him onto the train and found an empty compartment for us, not even bothering to find Sarah, Albus or James none of whom I've seen in over two months (They had all gone to America for the summer for some Quidditch camp or retreat or something). Then, once we were alone, he turned to me – I was so happy and relieved that he was finally looking at me again, but my happiness was quickly compromised.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said, shaking his head. "I can't do this."

He didn't say anything else, and I found myself frozen to the seat, so, he simply stood up again and left the compartment.

I decided not to tell James or Albus about him at all, but I found Sarah and told her everything later that day.

"Are you okay?" She asked, squeezing my arm.

"I'm going to get him back, Sarah," I said. "I love him."

She looked down. "Do you really? I mean, honestly, he seems rather … horrible. I understand that he's going through a rough time, but he can't even talk to you?"

"He was hurt," I said. "The real Patrick is wonderful, Sarah, you would love him."

"I don't want you to get hurt," she said.

"I won't get hurt."

"Okay," she said. "I'll help you get him back."

* * *

**Author's Note: So now we know what happened between Patrick and Rose, which, actually changes the situation quite a bit. Also, something you should know about me is that I'm _constantly _adding or changing things -- if you read the previous two chapters, you'll find new things, edited things, etc. It's definitely not necessary to reread the previous chapters, but sometimes I do get carried away with editing and sometimes (not this time) I will recommend to read a previous chapter. Just to let you know for future reference :)**

**Also, this fanfiction is going to be averaging around 2,000 - 3,000 words a chapter and there's going to be around 20-23 chapters and a possible epilogue.**

**Thank you so much for reading! And also, I'm loving the reviews! They definitely make my day so _please_ don't forget to review! Thanks! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Letting Go – Chapter 4

"Stop _thinking _about him," Sarah whined, grabbing my arm and started to pull me towards our weekend visit to Hogsmeade.

"Stop walking so fast," Scorpius frowned, practically jogging to keep up with us.

"We can't!" said Sarah. "We have to keep moving to keep her mind off of," 'Patrick' she mouthed.

"That makes absolutely no sense," I said. "I'm moving fast, yet I'm still thinking about him."

Sarah slapped me – lightly – on the arm and pointed her finger in my face, "Stop it." She stopped. "We're out of the castle, we have Hogsmeade in front of us," she gestured toward the shops, "you have this charming boy as a fake boyfriend," she grabbed Scorpius and pulled him toward me, "you're young, you're good-looking, you're smart. There's no reason for you to be as down as you are."

"She's right," Scorpius said.

I sighed, "I know she's right."

"So we're going to be happy today, right?" she asked.

I nodded.

"And you're not going to think about him for the entire day."

I reluctantly nodded again.

"Promise?"

I looked at her, her eyes hopeful. Sarah has always looked out for me. "I promise."

"Good," she grinned. Then, she grabbed both me and Scorpius and started to skip towards Hogsmeade.

xxxxxx

"Your friend is too peppy," Scorpius said as we watching Sarah run around Honeydukes, touching everything in sight.

"Agreed."

It was only ten o'clock, and Sarah's arms were already filled with carrier bags.

"I don't know you keep up with her," said Scorpius.

"I don't," I admitted. "When she hits the tenth shop I normally go find James or Albus. She barely notices."

"So we have, what, around three more shops before we can go?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I don't know if I can last that long," he said.

"We have to pace ourselves. If we rest while she's in the shops, we'll be able to run with her when we're moving from shop to shop."

"I always knew Sarah was a bit … hyper, but never like this," he said.

"Only in Hogsmeade. Or Diagon Alley," I said. "Anywhere with shops. She's a bit of a … shopping enthusiast."

"A shopping enthusiast," Scorpius repeated. "That's an interesting."

"Uh-oh," I said as Sarah finished up at the register. "Brace yourself."

We both leaned as far back as we could as we watched Sarah barrel at us with two new bags in her arms. She was only centimeters away from us when she skidded to a stop. "Look what I got!" She pulled out a long string of candy. "And it floats!" she let go of the string, and it hung, suspended, in the air.

"That's not a waste of money at all," Scorpius said sarcastically.

"It's a great purchase!" She said, pleased with herself. "Stationary next!" She glanced out the window, her eyes shining, and she promptly ran out of the store.

"Do you think she'll notice if we don't follow her?" he asked.

I stared as she ran into Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, already grabbing things off the shelves. "Probably not. Want to go to The Three Broomsticks?"

"Sure," he said, holding the door open for me as we walked out of Honeydukes and toward The Three Broomsticks.

xxxxxx

"'ello!" Albus waved, swaying slightly, as Scorpius and I entered The Three Broomsticks. James was sitting across from him, and six butterbeer mugs were in between them.

James grinned as we sat down across from them. He jabbed a finger toward Albus, "You'd think that he was a house elf based on how butterbeer affects him. I figure about three more before he's completely plastered."

"Albus gets drunk off butterbeers?" Scorpius asked, amused. "No one gets drunk off butterbeers."

"Except me," Albus waved his hands around.

"And he's hand-waver drunk," Scorpius said. "Interesting."

"So you say around 3 more?" I asked, taking a seat.

James nodded. "At most."

"'scuse me, missus," Albus said, leaning back to grab the lady wearing a 'Three Broomsticks' smock. "More butterbeers please!"

"How many?" She asked, coming over to take the empty mugs off the table.

Albus looked around the table. "Four!" He held up three fingers.

She looked at him and then turned to James. "Three or four?"

"Four," James confirmed.

She nodded, then turned away.

"Rosie," Albus leaned on me. "Rosie, Rosie, Rosie."

"Yes, Albus?" I asked.

He sat up, then stared around for a minute before leaning the other direction – on Scorpius. "Scorpy," he said. "You have very nice shoulders."

Scorpius looked horrified.

"Say 'thank you' Scorpy," James grinned.

Scorpius glared.

"Come on, now," I urged.

He kept on glaring.

"These are also very nice robes," Albus said, stroking the fabric.

Scorpius cleared his throat and quickly stood up, moving around the table to sit between me and James.

Albus looked up and opened his mouth to say something, but the lady had returned with the butterbeers and Albus grabbed the one closest to him and gulped it down.

The door of The Three Broomsticks opened and in came Sarah, looking frazzled. "I can't believe you two left me!" She said, making her way towards our table.

"Sorry," I said.

"It was her idea," Scorpius said, pointing at me.

"What?"

"I wanted to stay," he said.

I smacked him. "Stop lying."

"I'm not lying," he said, his eyes opened innocently.

"You are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

The door of The Three Broomsticks opened again and my response ('Are too!') was cut off as Patrick, Theresa, and some other Ravenclaws traipsed in and sat at the closest table, laughing and talking loudly.

"Damn," I muttered, "I was just about to stop thinking about him."

"What?" James asked.

"Nothing," Scorpius responded for me.

James looked at me and Scorpius strangely, probably determining whether or not to press the issue. Thankfully, Albus had just finished chugging the second of the four butterbeers, and he belched, loudly, and promptly fell backwards.

"I guess it only took two," said James, standing up to peer at Albus. He was on the floor, with his feet still propped up on the bench, completely unconscious.

"I wonder how many firewhiskies it would take for him to get to this point," Sarah said.

"Probably a third of one?" Scorpius asked.

"No," I said. "A fourth." I struggled to keep my eyes off of Patrick.

"We should get him back," James said, going around the table to look at his younger brother. "Come help me with this, Sarah." He moved to Albus's head, picking it up. "You get his feet."

"Why should I get his feet?" Sarah asked.

"Why shouldn't you?"

She looked around for a reason, and as her eyes landed on her bags they lit up. "I have bags."

"Fine," said James. "Rose?"

"I'm not carrying his feet," I said. "Let Scorpius do it."

"I don't want to carry his feet," he said. "I'm wearing my nice robes today."

"Come on," he whined. "Doesn't _anyone_ want to help me?"

Scorpius and I moved back.

"I'll help," a voice from a few tables away said. We all looked up in shock as Patrick made his way to us.

James blinked. "You'll help?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"Um," James looked at Sarah, who shrugged and mouthed 'I don't know'. "Sure," James finally said. "Just take his feet."

Patrick swung around and lifted Albus's feet off the bench. And together, James and Patrick moved a horizontal Albus out of the Three Broomsticks and toward the castle.

Sarah and I stared at each other quizzically before moving to follow them. As we left, I caught a glimpse of Theresa, who looked just as confused as we were.

xxxxxx

"What's going on?" Sarah whispered. Scorpius, Sarah, and I trailed about a meter behind James and Patrick.

"I have no idea," I whispered back.

"Well," Scorpius said. "I would say that your plan is working."

I grinned and turned to him. "Really?"

He nodded, looking equally pleased. "Really."

Sarah excitedly grabbed my arm. "Yes!"

And together, the three of us, arm-in-arm, walked happily to the castle.

xxxxxx

"Go talk to him," Sarah said once the portrait hole was open and Scorpius was finishing helping James get Albus inside.

"I can't," I said.

"Go," she pushed me.

I stumbled from her push in front of Patrick. "Um, hey!" I said.

He smiled thinly. "Hey."

"I believe a … thanks is in order."

"For helping carry your cousin back?" he asked. "No need for a thanks."

"Still," I said. "It was nice of you."

And, as I stood talking to Patrick, a wave a calm washed over me. Talking to Patrick was … comfortable. It was easy. It was right.

"You know me," he said, "always doing the right thing."

"Yeah," I nodded. "And you didn't have to leave Hogsmeade and everything just to drag my gets-drunk-off-butterbeer cousin back to the castle."

"If I didn't who would?"

I smiled. "Right."

"It was really no problem," he said. "I was glad to do it."

"Well, again, you didn't have to leave your Saturday to have fun just to help us, but thank you."

Suddenly, something dawned on him and his face turned completely serious again. "Theresa."

Theresa. Right.

"You forgot her?" I asked.

"I have to go," he said.

"Sure," I nodded. "Thank you, though, for everything."

"Of course," he said, nodding, before he turned and quickly jogged away to go back to her.

xxxxxx

"I hate her," I said the next morning, stabbing my fork into a piece of sausage. "I really hate her." She was all over my Patrick, touching him, petting him, kissing him. Was she so dependent on him that she couldn't even take a hand off of him at any time? Stupid bitch.

"You know," Scorpius said, "you should really hate him, not her."

I knew that he was right, deep down, but I couldn't hate Patrick. "She's still horrible. I bet that he doesn't even like her. I bet that she slips him Amortentia in his pumpkin juice every morning."

"Is she his type?" Sarah asked.

I frowned. She was. She was exactly what Patrick looked for in a girl – smart, cute, funny. She practically radiated happiness, a trait that I knew for a fact was something Patrick admired. And that's why I hated her so much. She was absolutely perfect for him. Abso-bloody-lutely perfect for him.

I threw down my fork and stood up, grabbing my bag from the floor. "I'm full," I said to Scorpius and Sarah before leaving the Great Hall.

I could feel my chest and throat tighten. I clenched my fist. Rose Weasley didn't cry over stupid boys and their perfect stupid girlfriends. Their perfect girlfriend with their perfect hair and perfect teeth and almost-perfect grades.

My eyes burned.

"Rose!" Scorpius caught my arm.

I didn't even hear him come after me. "I don't want to talk," I said, after a moment.

He pulled me toward him. "Don't talk, then."

I swallowed, hard, as he brought me into a hug, and the tears I was holding back spilled over. We stood like that for a few minutes – his arms wrapped around me and me crying into his robes.

"This is such a low point for me," I said finally, wiping away from tears.

He was silent.

"I don't know why I care so much," I said. "It's just … I love him, Scorpius. I love him." I moved out of his arms and looked up at him. "Maybe he's over me," I said, feeling completely defeated. "I don't think he even cares about me anymore."

Scorpius stared at me. "He cares, Rose. I don't know how he could not care about you."

"You think so?"

"I know so," he said, brushing his thumb against my cheek to wipe my tears away. "He loves you, and you'll get him back." He paused. "I promise."

xxxxxx

Author's Note: So I was a little stuck with this chapter, but hopefully it was still good :) Thank you, again, for the WONDERFUL reviews! They're fabulous and they completely make my day wonderful, so please keep leaving them – good or bad. Thanks again so much! It's the reads and reviews that keep me going :)


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